Page 89 of A Mother for the Blind Duke’s Orphans

“Your Grace.” Leander approached him, greeting him with easy respect. “Thank you for inviting us.”

Hector turned toward Leander with a polite smile that did not reach his eyes. “Thank you for accepting my invitation. My butler will show you to your chambers.”

Mr. Clarke appeared immediately and began guiding Leander and Thomas. Aurora and Thomas eyed each other curiously as Julia cooed at Princess, who gave her a toothless grin.

“Aurora, would you like to take us to our chambers, too?” Julia asked.

She nodded but did not say a word.

“How long will you be staying?” Poppy asked Julia, clutching her hands before she walked away.

Julia’s smile widened. “A week.”

“Truly?” Poppy could not hide the excitement in her voice.

“Yes, your husband invited us over for a week.” Julia smiled at Hector, and he nodded in response.

Poppy turned again in his direction. Hector had been speaking with Leander, but he seemed to sense the sudden direction of her attention. His head angled toward her.

“You invited them for a week?” she asked.

“Yes.”

The simplicity of the answer struck her harder than any speech could have done. She did not think. She released Julia at once and went to Hector.

He stiffened faintly as she approached him. Poppy stopped close enough that she could see the disciplined line of his mouth and the way his fingers tightened around the head of his cane. She had grown used to the solemn authority that clung to him even when he said nothing, but she had not grown used to his kindness, which arrived without announcement.

“Hector?” she whispered.

“Poppy?” he answered gruffly.

“I am smiling at you,” she said softly.

His brow shifted. “Are you?”

“Yes, very much. So, you should smile back.”

For a moment, he did nothing, and Poppy realized, too late, how absurd she sounded. How intimate the request had been, spoken not as a duchess to a duke but as a woman to a man who had pleased her and must be made to know it. Heat rose in her cheeks. She might have retreated, might have disguised the moment with some light remark, had he not then obeyed.

Hector smiled, and it was a genuine, startling smile directed toward her. Poppy ought to have said thank you. She ought to have said anything. Instead, she stood there, speechless, with her heart behaving as though it had been startled from sleep.

Julia saved her by appearing at her side. “If you are finished staring at your husband, I would like a word.”

Poppy’s cheeks warmed further. Julia laughed and drew her away before she could make matters worse. Poppy looked back and watched Hector leave the drawing room quietly.

The sisters settled together on one side of the drawing room, while the children disappeared with the men. Their conversation was low, composed of masculine civility and occasional pauses. Poppy tried not to look over too often, but she failed. She felt a sudden pull to her husband that she did not understand, but she very much wanted to.

When Poppy turned back to her sister, she knew that Julia noticed everything that was left unsaid, as she always had.

“Now,” her sister said. “You must tell me everything.”

Poppy sighed. “That is a dangerous request, Julia.”

“I did not come for safety. I came for truth, no matter how harsh it may be. I also came for some gossip, and to determine whether I must abduct you.” She raised a thin brow.

“Julia,” Poppy warned.

“What? I would have been discreet. And you know Leander is very useful in emergencies.”